Unbroken Smile is a feature documentary by Brittany Chrishawn
They shattered her smile. She refused to let them define her story.
In May 2020, filmmaker Brittany Chrishawn‘s life changed after a violent encounter with police in Jacksonville, Florida, left her with shattered teeth, serious injuries, and criminal charges for crimes she did not commit.
What followed was a years-long fight to defend herself, uncover the truth, and reclaim control of her life.
Armed with body-camera footage, personal recordings, and her own determination to investigate what happened, Brittany began documenting a journey she never imagined she would have to take.
But as the legal battles unfolded, another struggle emerged: how to move forward when a single traumatic experience threatens to define everything you’ve worked to become.
Unbroken Smile is an intimate, first-person documentary about the pursuit of justice, the consequences of institutional power, and one woman’s determination to reclaim her identity and tell her story on her own terms.
This film is fiscally sponsored by the International Documentary Association (IDA).
THE STORY BEHIND THE FILM
Before May 2020, Brittany Chrishawn was building a future in filmmaking, music, and entrepreneurship.
Then, an encounter with police inside a Jacksonville home changed the course of her life.
In the years that followed, Brittany found herself navigating criminal proceedings, physical injuries, emotional trauma, and a justice system she had once believed would protect her.
As her experience gained public attention, she faced another unexpected challenge: becoming known for what happened to her rather than for the person she had spent her life working to become.
Determined to tell her own story, Brittany turned to filmmaking.
Through personal footage, body-camera recordings, intimate conversations, and moments of vulnerability, Unbroken Smile follows her efforts to uncover the truth while confronting the lasting effects of an experience that changed her life.
At its heart, the film asks a deeply personal question:
How do you reclaim your life when the world knows you for the worst thing that happened to you?
A NOTE FROM THE DIRECTOR
“I never imagined that one day I would be making a documentary about my own life.
Before everything happened, I had dreams, ambitions, and plans for my future. Suddenly, so much of my life became consumed by trying to defend myself and make sense of what I’d experienced.
Making Unbroken Smile became a way for me to document what happened, investigate the circumstances surrounding my case, and tell my story in my own words.
But somewhere along the way, I began to realize that my story was about more than what happened to me.
It was also about the life I still wanted to live.”
— Brittany Chrishawn
Director, Unbroken Smile
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